


First Meeting

by queenofthemoment



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Coffee Shops, F/M, First Meetings, Undercover as a Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-01 23:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10203443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofthemoment/pseuds/queenofthemoment
Summary: Ward meets Cidney for the first timeSet Before The Queens to you





	

Ward sat in the crowded coffee shop waiting to meet his SO. He wondered why he didn’t want to meet him somewhere more private but Garrett always had his reasons. After getting his first assignment he felt a wide range of emotions- nervousness, excitement and slight dread. In the academy he trained to be a specialist, it was a good fit since his people skills weren’t the best, however his superiors didn’t seem to take that into consideration when he was given his first assignment- undercover. Amount of time? Indefinite. In undercover you had to make friends, connect with people. Ward needed a lot of practice in the art of making friends.  
Garrett slid into the seat beside him and flashed him a knowing smile. Ward knew he wouldn’t be able to get his assignment changed but he hoped at the very least Garrett would actually give him some usable advice.  
“Well kid you’re going to have to brush up on those people skills real quick.”  
“It’s not the assignment that’s the problem. It’s the cover.”  
“I don’t think you’ll have a hard time finding someone.”  
“I can point out five girls in here that would work for a couple months at most…but a girlfriend? They want me to have a long term relationship!”  
“I didn’t put together the cover kid. Find someone independent and that you can stand being around for a few months.” Garret sipped his coffee. “Or years.”  
“And when it’s over?”  
“You leave for your next assignment.”  
Ward’s face fell. He knew he wouldn’t build many lasting relationships in this line of work…but he’d at least hoped that he’d make things better…not hurt innocent people.  
“So look around kid. Mingle a little. Find someone you won’t want to put in a body bag at the end of it all, but don’t let them become a weakness.”  
Ward glanced around the shop and quickly turned down everyone Garrett suggested. Sure they were all pretty, but some looked like too much work and others had daddy issues written all over them.  
“How about the red head in the corner?”  
Ward’s eyes drifted over to the spot Garrett indicated. In the corner sat a woman that definitely made Ward do a double take. She was pretty without really trying. Her blue eyes flitted between the folders spread on the table and her computer that was covered in stickers of bands from the 70s and 80s. Her long hair was tossed over the hood of her Notre Dame sweatshirt and she peered through her glasses very intently at whatever she was working on.  
“Nerd girl is the first you haven’t said no to within two seconds.”  
“I’ll talk to you when I get my first report in.” Ward stood and waded through the crowd over to the girl’s table. “This seat taken?”  
She glanced at him and shook her head and went back to her work.  
Ward could feel Garret’s eyes burning a hole in the back of his head, “Which one is your favorite?” Ward tapped her computer indicating the band stickers and she flashed him a glare that told him if he touched her stuff again he might just lose a finger. Several beats passed and she didn’t give him an answer.  
“It just seems weird that you’d have this many band stickers and not have a favorite. Or are you just trying to look like you know old bands?”  
She looked at him icily and took out her ear buds, from them Ward could faintly hear music that sounded a lot like ACDC but he couldn’t be sure. “I like a lot of them.” She stated, “Kinda hard to pick a favorite.”  
“Oh come on you have to have a couple.”  
She shrugged, “CCR, Aerosmith, Def Leppard Bad Company, Styx, Bob Seger, Boston… Rolling Stones. I could go on for a while.”  
“Styx? Can’t stand Dennis DeYoung.”  
“He’s Mr. Roboto.”  
Ward gave her an amused look and she went back to her work with a small huff.  
“You from around here?”  
“Nope.”  
“Did you live in Indiana long?” he indicated her sweatshirt  
“Just while at school.”  
“First time to Boston?”  
“Mhm” she continued sifting through her papers with one ear bud in.  
“Planning on staying around?  
“Maybe.”  
“It’s a great city-“  
“Look you seem nice.” She interrupted him “But I have a lot of work to do so why don’t you go flirt with someone else? You’re cute I’m sure you’ll have no problem getting another girl to talk to you.”  
“Well maybe I want to talk to you.”  
She raised an eyebrow at him, “If you had a bet that you couldn’t get three words out of me you won. But then again I don’t see a bunch of guys gawking at us so maybe the bet idea is wrong.”  
“Not a bet.” He smiled “My name is Grant. Grant Ward.” He held out his hand.  
She eyed his hand for a second and shook it, “Cidney Allan.”  
“So Cidney…you think I’m cute?”  
She let out a small giggle and blushed, “Okay I set myself up for that. Sure you’re not bad to look at.”  
“So I’m handsome.” Ward stated.  
Cidney grew a deeper shade of red, “Okay yeah.”  
Ward laughed at her embarrassment. “Well Cidney I might be pushing my luck but I have one more question to ask you.”  
“And what’s that?”  
“May I have your number? I’d like to take the prettiest girl in here for dinner sometime.”  
“Wow. You were doing so well up to that point!”  
“Didn’t work for you?”  
“Not at all. That was terrible. Has that worked for you before?”  
“Well I don’t usually do this…”  
“Course you don’t.” she said in mock sympathy.  
Ward sighed this was not going well for him at all. “Let me start over….Cidney, may I have your phone number?”  
“How do I know you’re not some kind of creep?”  
“I mean you don’t…but I give you my word that I’m not.”  
She eyed him slightly suspiciously. She made up her mind -why not, life on the road she learned to trust her instincts and she wasn’t really getting any weird vibes from him. “Okay.”  
Grant gave her a lazy grin. Once he got her number Grant excused himself and walked outside He noted a van parked in an end space with the back covered in stickers of old bands. On the glass were two other stickers that stood out from the others, one for the Pacific Crest trail and the other for the Appalachian Trail. Ward passed the van and glanced into the driver’s seat. The front of the van was cluttered with a couple maps and a book on the passenger seat, hung over the rearview mirror was a cord with small trinkets dangling from it. The back was obstructed with a cloth hanging from the ceiling. Ward took everything in a matter of seconds and continued on his way feeling fairly confident that he’d be able to put up with being with dating this girl for a little while.


End file.
